I went into the pet shop and looked at the hamsters and I decided that I wanted a Syrian male(the largest and most common hamster.) My brother keeps rats so he recommended I handle them first to decide which would be easiest to tame. The lady in the shop took the lid off the cage and began to remove some bedding. The hamsters soon woke up. I stroked some and they all turned over in submission. The lady then parted some more bedding. I saw a cream-coloured hamster curled up. I put my hand near him to stroke him. He was obviously shocked but I can remember the first time he looked at me as it was yesterday. As soon as he opened his eyes and took his first look at his prospective owner, I knew that he should be mine. I'm not really into the mushy kind of stuff but thats how I felt. Ichose the largest cage that I could afford and then the countdown to get home began before he could munch his way through the cardboard box.

My family now have three hamsters with the possibility of breeding on the cards.(I'm keeping my fingers crossed.) I've been to hamster shows with the Northern Hamster Club and won various prizes. And this is all because of my first hamster, Fudge who I love and care for very much